Belles roundup: Heat causes two forfeits

Aug. 2, 2008

A large portable cooler provides some respite from the heat for Texas Belles player Haili Beam, her mother and Texas manager, Tammy Beam, and Misty Kaderli at Johnny Downs Sports Complex on Saturday. The heat caused two forfeits in the Belles division on Saturday. / Leandro Huebner/lhuebner@thetowntalk.com

Written by

Justin Phillips

For The Town Talk

In the Belles division, Mississippi and Florida had to contend with more than just their respective opponents.

They also dealt with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees.

With score tied at 0 for most of the contest, the scoreless tie was broken in the seventh inning by Mississippi's Ashley Hickman when she hit a two-RBI double to give her team the lead.

Unfortunately, Hickman's biggest hit of the tournament would mean nothing as her team won the matchup due to a Florida forfeit.

The Florida Belles arrived at the Dixie Softball World Series at Johnny Downs Sports Complex with 10 players on their official roster. Due to the heat, two of the players were unable to continue to play and had to leave the game to be examined by the medical staff on site at Johnny Downs.

North Carolina also had problems coping with the intense heat of the early afternoon as three of their players would succumb to heat-related injuries. With the three players having to miss the remainder of the game, the team was forced to concede victory to Alabama due to an insufficient number of players needed to continue to play. North Carolina led the game, 4-2, at the time of the decision.

The heat was an issue all day for the players in the Belles division, but many of the teams managed to finish games without incident.

The Georgia Belles put their potent offense on display with the largest margin of victory in any game in the division for the day with a 17-4 win over Virginia. The offensive clinic was punctuated in the seventh inning when Georgia's Savannah Coon hit a three-run home run to extend her team's lead as the game came to a close.

Texas would display its offensive prowess as well with a 10-run victory over Arkansas, 11-1.